As I looked at Armadi, who was subtly glancing around with her head down, a sigh escaped me.
Does this author even realize what she did wrong?
Probably not. I bet she’s still thinking about how she messed up.
“What do you think I’m angry about?”
Curious about her answer, I asked, and Armadi stammered before managing to speak.
“It’s about… using Lucy.”
“That’s obviously wrong, but I can take that into account. I’m the one who brought us to this conclusion, right?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Now tell me something else.”
“If it’s about the Mesugaki Skill, there was really nothing I could do. I was too weak to stop Agra while giving you memories.”
“…Agra?”
“He thought I was relying on you and cursed you. He destroyed your ‘happiness.’ All I could do was make sure the curse didn’t just remain as a simple curse.”
“Wasn’t it just your personal taste?”
“Why would I curse my cute daughter for that?!”
“Well, your mom is a bit of a masochist.”
“Not at all!”
Not at all? I thought you had inserted some personal preference all the way until now!
I was left speechless as Armadi’s face turned progressively redder when I found out she was Lucy’s mom.
“Have you really thought that all along?!”
“Of course. A masochist wouldn’t dress their daughter in a bunny girl outfit.”
“Don’t twist the narrative! I never forced Lucy to wear that outfit!”
“But you clearly stated it in the punishment. In an extremely perverted and sly tone, too.”
“…That was…”
“What was it?”
“It’s just that Lucy looking horrified and embarrassed is cute.”
“Shut up! You filthy perverted god!”
“I’m sorry…”
So, Armadi is just a silly, clueless mom, huh?
Huh? Wait a minute. She was the one who gave me revelations about the armor I’m currently wearing.
There’s no way the author who made me wear this insane armor had no lecherous intent.
Narrowing my eyes, I glared at Armadi in silence. She started to mumble incoherently and turned her face even redder.
“Honestly, just say it. Have you ever asked perverted crows for pictures or drawings?”
“I… have.”
“Confiscated. Hand over everything later.”
“Wait! I couldn’t meet or talk to Lucy, so I collected them one by one to ease my longing!”
“Oh, is that so? Then go stick your head in a hole and forget about meeting me.”
“…I’m sorry. I’ll submit everything by today.”
Sigh. With a god like Jushin ending up this way, that sloppy fox and the perverted apostle must not be receiving divine punishment.
“Ugh. Lucy is so scary now. She used to be so cute when she was younger.”
“Back then, Mom wore a mask, right? Knowing she’s this absurd now, I doubt she was cute then.”
My past self, who shouted “I love Mom so much!” must be pitiful.
If I had known what a disaster Mom was, I wouldn’t have had to be so sad.
“Does Papa know how ridiculous this is?”
“I’m not sure what you mean by ridiculous, but I don’t think he’d be surprised by anything.”
“Impressive, you kept that secret.”
“I wanted to be someone Lucy could trust back then. I put in so much effort.”
Although Armadi forced a smile, there was an indescribable sadness behind her words.
I could roughly guess what this pathetic woman thought as she watched me suffer due to her powerlessness.
So I couldn’t say much about that. My adolescence has passed long ago.
What a shame. If I were still in my energetic years, I would have gone all out, regardless of others.
“I’ve understood everything you’ve said, but you’ve made other mistakes, right? Speak up.”
“More here?”
“Don’t want to? Should I call you by a different title instead of Mom?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to! I have a lot of things on my mind! But they’re all similar to what I said before.”
“Hmmm. So Mom is a sloppy mess who doesn’t even know what she did wrong, huh?”
“Y-yes.”
“Since you’ve been peeping at me like a pervert from up top, you know how to ask a sloppy person, right? Go ahead, just say you don’t know. I’ll call you Auntie.”
“Yes. That’s right! Just like Lucy said, I’m an incompetent sloppy mess! So please tell me what mistakes I’ve made!”
Watching Armadi bury her head on the floor without being asked made a faint guilt creep into my heart.
Uh. Hmm. I actually didn’t want this much.
But I can’t show weakness now!
We must address this issue with Armadi’s mistakes!
I got seriously angry at Armadi, not because of her problems with me.
Of course, there were many annoying aspects, and I thought about tormenting her, but that was only a playful desire to have her experience the same.
This was not a serious anger.
While listening to Armadi, my patience snapped because she couldn’t adhere to even her own words.
“I had asked the people around me, who were moved by Mom’s words, countless times not to carry everything alone. That my sacrifice could turn into others’ pain. So, I asked you to share the burden, as walking the painful road together could sometimes be less painful.”
Sometimes the most selfish thing can also be the most altruistic.
There exist moments when openly asking for help transforms into a way to care for others, even if it’s clear that others will feel burdened.
As a fool who was oblivious and clueless, I only realized it after my friends shed tears.
“But Mom doesn’t seem to care about other people’s feelings at all, huh?”
However, the subject of this statement, Armadi, did not keep her word at all.
She tried to endure everything alone, completed her thoughts in solitude, made her choices arbitrarily, and even afterward wanted to resolve everything by herself.
Without considering what those who risked their lives for her might think.
“Mom wished for me to listen to her thoughts unilaterally. She never asked about mine.”
The relationship between Jushin and me was one-sided.
Armadi always provided me a path to follow but never inquired about my thoughts.
“It’s the same with Phoebe and other devout clergy. Those fools never bothered to correct their misunderstandings while mom never tried to fix them.”
Armadi deliberately neglected the priests who worshiped her.
It was true that the Pope was at the head, but not all the clergy were corrupted, and she had no intention of seeking their cooperation.
“She’s never shared her concerns with other gods either. Even the history nerds wouldn’t know a thing.”
Even gods of similar ranks were not trustworthy in Armadi’s eyes.
She wanted to carry everything alone without sharing plans with anyone.
“Although I don’t like anything one by one, I can still understand. She might have broken down after repeating numerous failures. But, but you had to let Grandpa and those companions know something. Before the Age of Myth ends, at least say a word.”
Heroes of the Mythical Age never thought they won even once.
They lost the beings they believed in, neglected those they should have defeated, and couldn’t take a proper rest while trying to settle the chaotic land.
What wrong did they do?
They just did their best for the world; why should they be treated like this?
Why do the saviors of the world still remain here, unable to shake off their stubbornness?!
“Is it really Jushin’s duty to do something like this without a proper apology and once again force sacrifices?”
With a pale face, Armadi couldn’t answer my question.
So she truly had no awareness of her wrongdoing.
Sigh. Is this stupidity hereditary?
So me being dense and repeating foolish acts was because I’m Armadi’s daughter!
The more I contemplate, the hotter my head gets!
“Apologize properly and compensate properly. Don’t spew nonsense about new life and peace and make it so heroes can be happy when they’re still heroes. It’s not something you could’ve done as a shoddy god, but now that you’ve regained your power, it’s something you can easily do.”
“…Lucy is right. Compensation after the clock has wound down will mean nothing.”
*
“So I’m here to make Mom apologize. Our Mom may be foolish and incompetent, but she’s kindhearted. She’s just a thoughtless idiot. Just teach her.”
The atmosphere turned a bit serious, so I tried to joke, but the expressions of the hero party didn’t budge.
Garad, Erginius, the hero, and even Grandpa were all holding back tears while waiting for their inevitable deaths.
…This mood is quite burdensome.
Alright! Let’s run away! I’ve done all I could do here!
I need to get back and finish my work! Yes!
Just as I was subtly stepping back, Runevia embraced me and lifted me up.
“Don’t worry. Lady Allen. The others are taking care of it well. I think it’s okay for you to rest easy here.”
“That’s just your opinion! Chicken coop auntie!”
“Runevia.”
“If you want to be called that, then right now…!”
“That name was given to me by you, right? Please call me properly. Runevia.”
“Lu… Runevia.”
As I stuttered and called her name while feeling the temperature drop in real-time, Runevia finally smiled.
This woman is scary! Just moments ago, I really felt like she was going to stab me with a knife!
How could this be the queen of fairies?! More like the queen of menhera!
“I couldn’t even be a proper mother, yet you’ve grown this well. Ruel, I can’t thank you enough.”
“No, Your Lordship. She has always been a good child. What have I done?” sniff
“This is truly an emotional moment. Don’t you think so, Lady Allen?”
Yeah, it does look emotional.
If the focus of that story wasn’t me, I would’ve cried together.
But the focus of that story is me!
I feel like I’m going to die from embarrassment!
Please, let me escape!
Is this perhaps a new form of torture?! I’ll give you the location of the base!
I’ll say anything, just spare me! The sensation of my insides melting away in real-time!
